Interruptsignale

Interruptsignale, or interrupt signals, are events that temporarily suspend the current execution of a processor or program to service a higher-priority task. They enable asynchronous handling of external devices, timers, and exceptional conditions, allowing systems to respond promptly without polling continuously.

Hardware interruptsignale are generated by hardware devices and routed to the processor through interrupt controllers. Each signal indicates an event such as I/O completion or a timer timeout. The processor may prioritize or mask interrupts, save state, and jump to an interrupt service routine (ISR).

Software interrupts, often referred to as traps or signals in operating systems, are raised by software instructions to request services or to signal events. In many systems, user applications receive signals (for example, a keyboard interrupt or termination request), which are delivered to handlers or default actions.

Handling interrupts involves careful design: ISRs should be short, non-blocking, and preserve processor state; critical sections may disable interrupts briefly to protect shared data; deferred work can be scheduled to run later in a lower-priority context to improve latency and responsiveness.

In modern computing, interrupt signals underpin device drivers, real-time systems, and multitasking kernels. They enable asynchronous I/O, event-driven programming, and robust error handling, while requiring careful timing analysis and predictable latency in real-time environments.